Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Peter Anderson

Abstract

Teen dating violence and bullying are major public health concerns but are preventable. Both dating violence and bullying occur within similar social context and the prevalence of teen dating violence was highest for African American teens as reported on the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Social learning theory provides a foundation for understanding and changing behavior related to dating violence victimization and bully victimization. The research questions focused on relationships between bully and teen dating violence victimization when controlling for race/ethnicity, gender, substance abuse, age, and age of first sexual intercourse. Additionally, the potential mediating variable of spending time with a parent was tested. This was a quantitative study using archival data from Palm Beach County YRBS of 2,376 public high school students in the spring of 2013. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Chi-square, multivariate regression analysis, Conditional PROCESS, and Games Howell Post Hoc tests were conducted. Results for this study showed a relationship between race, gender, substance abuse, age, and age of first sexual intercourse and the likelihood of the co-occurrence of being a victim of teen dating violence and bullying. Additionally, spending time with a parent mediated the relationship between experiencing teen dating violence and bully victimization. This study has implications for positive social change through its potential change in the landscape of prevention programs that target teens, which may decrease victimization and improve the longevity of healthy social and intimate relationships.

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